Tag Archives: tidewater glacier

Our helicopter flight above Boger Bay on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, took us up to a landing perch at the top of a cliff overlooking the Bay. While we were up there enjoying the spectacular views and making photographs, fog rolled in over much of the bay, obscuring the mountains and glaciers that had been in plain sight, right in front of us. Fortunately, we did not get enveloped in the fog and our helicopter was able to easily return to the top of the cliff to deliver us back to the ship. On the return flight we had a great aerial show by some of the many beluga whales that we had spotted from the Zodiacs earlier in the day.

Panorama of our ship at anchor in Boger Bay in one of Canada’s most northern islands, Ellesmere Island, where we explored the sedimentary mountain ranges, ice caps, glaciers, fiords, fertile arctic oases and abundant wildlife by Zodiacs and our helicopter

Encompassing Canada’s northernmost lands, Ellesmere Island National Park in Nunavut Territory is an enclave of sedimentary mountain ranges, ice caps, glaciers, fiords and fertile arctic oases. Here, glacial debris ice can be found drifting late into the summer, making it a prime area for wildlife viewing. During our visit there was so much polar bear activity on shore that we had to cancel our planned hikes. Instead, we ventured out in Zodiacs for scenic cruising and were surprised with the rare sighting of polar bears dragging up a seal carcass to the beach and then eating it as we drifted by just offshore in our Zodiacs. Meanwhile, dozens of beluga whales swam by, between our Zodiacs and the beach – at one point creating a challenge for two more polar bears in the water who were attempting to swim ashore to join the eating frenzy (seal carcass). Look at the photos, below, to see the time line and what happened…

After the Zodiac cruising and helicopter flights [see our upcoming blog post], we sailed to the end of the bay and set an all-time record for our ship’s furthest northern point in North America: 77 degrees 18.92 minutes N latitude and 078 degrees 50.51 minutes W longitude.

Tidewater glaciers flowing into the ocean in a bay on Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

By the time we arrived on the “scene” in our Zodiac, a mother polar bear and her yearling had dragged a seal carcass up to the beach and were busy eating while two other polar bears (only one is pictured here) were looking on with envy, waiting “their turn” as they weren’t dominant in that group, Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

A great spot for a feast of a luncheon! — Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

A close up of the mother polar bear, taking a short break from eating, Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

We took a break too, as we drifted and then checked out this large iceberg full of gulls…, Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Suddenly, we spotted two more polar bears (another mother and yearling) in the water who smelled lunch and were heading towards the shore, Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Oops – traffic jam – the two polar bears in the water couldn’t get ashore for a while due to the large number of beluga whales (the adults are white and the young whales are darker in color) swimming by the shoreline in front of the luncheon spot (note the whales’ spouting water visible against the sandy shore); Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

The first two polar bears hadn’t invited guests for lunch, so the new arrivals starting barking and showing that the new mother was the dominant one on the beach; Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

After a few minutes of the standoff, the first mother (on the right with her yearling) relented and made room for the new arrivals to join in the seal luncheon; Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

And a nice feast was enjoyed by all; note that the two mother polar bears each put their yearling off to the side away from the other mother, for protection; Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

A close up of two beluga whales, the white one being an adulte and the grey one, a young whale; Boger Bay, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

On our last afternoon sailing down the coast of Spitsbergen Island of Svalbard, our ship repositioned from our morning position at the point on the Hornsund Fjord where it meets the Burgerbukta Fjord – Gnålodden – to an “anchorage” near the far end of the Burgerbukta Fjord (where the fjord actually splits into two bays, Vestre Burgerbukta and Austre Burgerbukta, with tidewater glaciers pouring down the mountainsides into each bay). The best way to explore the area was in hour-plus-long Zodiac boat tours, providing us an opportunity to get up fairly close to the tidewater glacier faces and to sail through the icebergs and ice floes which proved to be very photogenic. We were very sad at the end of the cruising to realize that this would be our last encounter with the fjords, glaciers and icebergs, as that evening we began the long sail to the south to reach the northern tip of Norway and the city of Tromso, from which we had embarked on this remarkable journey in the Arctic.

Burgerbukta Fjord, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard, photograph #10 – a double hanging glacier; note that as the front edge of each glacier is pushed forward and melts, the falling ice can create dangerous situations for any boats too close to the cliff edge!

After two days looking for wildlife in the Arctic Pack Ice north of Svalbard (setting a record for the furthest north the ship has ever sailed — reaching Latitude 82º 41’ North and Longitude 022º 57.91’ East), we sailed south overnight and in the morning anchored in a beautiful long fjord on the northwest corner of Spitsbergen Island, Raudfjorden (The Red Fjord). We explored the area in Zodiacs, guided by experts from our expedition team. The fjord features little bays with tumbling glaciers and old Devonian red sandstone. We enjoyed our hour-plus 8 a.m. exploration of the small bay with glaciers, icebergs, a bird cliff and rock islands.

Raudfjorden (The Red Fjord), Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard, photograph #2 – three’s company; just after I pressed the shutter, like ballet dancers, all of them dove down underwater to hunt for lunch

The tidewater glacier flowing into the fjord at Juli Bukta, Lilliehöökfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, as viewed from the water (from a Zodiac)

From our anchorage spot in Krossfjorden, we sailed mid-day to Juli Bukta in Lilliehöökfjorden on Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard, where we anchored in order to launch Zodiacs for cruises of the fjord and close up viewing of the tidewater glacier flowing into the fjord.

One part of the uphill glacier, with lateral moraine, flowing into the fjord, Juli Bukta, Lilliehöökfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

The front edge of the tidewater glacier at Juli Bukta, Lilliehöökfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Blue ice on the front edge of the tidewater glacier at Juli Bukta, Lilliehöökfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

A bird colony on an iceberg at Juli Bukta, Lilliehöökfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

We took a Zodiac from the ship to the Signehamna landing on the shore of Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Sailing north on the western side of Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard, our next stop was at the Signehamna landing site on Krossfjorden. With an Arctic historian who was part of our expedition team, we hiked about a mile from our Zodiac boat landing site to a small lake that was not visible from the fjord/landing site. Nearby we found the remains of the secret, hidden “Knospe” German World War II weather station. [See further information/history, below.] After lunch our ship sailed by the tidewater glacier at the end of the fjord and we were able to take some scenic photographs.

After hiking about a mile (1.6 km) from the landing site we came across this small lake and an important World War II site, nearby, Signehamna, Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

“Germany’s occupation of Norway in 1940 did not have any consequences for Svalbard and its settlement for a little while. This changed in June 1941, when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, as the Barents Sea now got a new strategical significance as gateway for important goods from the western allies for the Red Army. In August 1941, 1,955 Russians and 765 Norwegians were evacuated to the UK and the settlements on Spitsbergen largely destroyed to make sure the Germans would not benefit from them. This was quickly realised in Germany, and the opportunity was used to establish war weather stations. Weather data from the arctic were vital both for central Europe and for attacking the convoys to Murmansk. The importance of those convoys for the war in eastern Europe made both the Germans and the Allies put great effort into attacking and, respectively, protecting them. For Germany, this meant to establish a number of weather stations in the arctic, which the Allies of course tried to prevent. Competition between the different branches within the German military led to the somewhat strange fact that there were often more than one station wintering in Svalbard, whereas one might have done from a meteorological point of view. In 1941-42, the station ‘Bansö’ wintered in Adventdalen near Longyearbyen and ‘Knospe’ in Signehamna in the Krossfjord.

“In 1942, the Norwegians tried to get control over Svalbard again. An attempt was made together with the British with two small ships, the Isbjørn and the Selis. Four German airfcraft attacked the two ships in the night to 14th May in the Grønfjord; Isbjørn was sunk and Selis caught fire and 14 people were killed. The surviving force established a garrison with about 80 soldiers in Barentsburg, which had been largely destroyed in the previous summer. The German weather station Knospe in the Krossfjord was discovered, and a German soldier was shot there. A German submarine, which came to pick the crew of the weather station up, attacked the Norwegian camp in the Krossfjord. This attack also cost the life of one Norwegian. Later that year, the Germans again established a weather station in the Krossfjord on the same site (station ‘Nussbaum’).

“…the war for the weather continued. The Germans kept establishing secret weather stations in Svalbard as well as northeast Greenland and Franz Josef Land. Only in 1944-45, with an increasingly difficult situation in Europe, the Germans ran no less than four staffed weather stations in Svalbard, in addition to other, similar ones elsewhere in the north Atlantic. There is mostly not too much to be seen anymore at the weather stations [sites]. Time and the harsh weather, but mostly souvenir collectors, have taken most of it away, but a few remains can still be seen.” — www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/spitsbergen-information/history/the-second-world-war.html

The remains of the German World War II remote semi-automated weather station – “Knospe” — that was invisible from the Signehamna landing site on Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

On our hike at the “Knospe” German World War II weather station, Seb, an historian who was an expedition guide sailing around Svalbard with us, told us some stories about the Norwegian – German fighting in Krossfjorden during World War II, related to the weather station. In order to resupply the lead-acid batteries that operated the weather observation equipment and transmitters at the station, every couple of weeks the Germans sailed a submarine into the bay. Sailors would haul up new batteries and inspect the station to ensure that all was working correctly. The Norwegians were successful in capturing one of the submarines and its highly secret and much sought after communications equipment – a fully functional Enigma cipher (code machine) and the accompanying top secret code book. These were forwarded to the Allied code breaking team in Bletchley Park in England where they played a critical role in enabling the Allies to start breaking the codes in secret German military communications. [Bletchley Park was the central site for British (and subsequently, Allied) codebreakers during World War II, located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England; at its peak, some 10,000 personnel (mostly women mathematicians, physicists, etc.) worked at Bletchley and its outstations.]

While the control of the weather stations in Spitsbergen went back and forth between the Germans (who had established them secretly) and the Norwegians, by 1944 control of the stations was less important to the Allies, because with their code breaking capability, the Allies also used the German military’s weather data to assist in Allied military planning. The most critical use of the Spitsbergen weather data was in the planning for D-Day. General Eisenhower argued strongly against the planners who read the weather forecasts and proposed delaying the Allied invasion of Europe (“Operation Overlord”) because of approaching storms. Eisenhower finally gave in and the amphibious landing and invasion by 160,000 Allied troops along a 50-mile stretch of beaches was rescheduled to June 6, 1944, which resulted in a successful invasion (nevertheless, as anticipated, one costly in terms of casualties and deaths of Allied soldiers). Standing there at the weather station suddenly gave whole new meaning to the stories in books and movies about Bletchley Park and Alan Turing and the D-Day invasion.

Downhill from the weather station was this small pond with beautiful hues in the water, Signehamna, Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Viewed from our ship at anchor in Signehamna, Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, the tidewater glacier can be seen to be flowing downhill into the fjord (panorama)

The glacier, as seen later in the morning as we sailed by before exiting Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard